It is used as a normal though bulky mobile phone in closed mode, when it is flipped open it can be used like a very small notebook computer with a 640×200 screen. The earpiece and microphone are located on the back so one must hold it with the front screen and keypad facing out to make a call. The phone also has speakerphone functionality. It was also the first Nokia with a card slot for expandable memory.

The American variant is the Nokia 9290, introduced in June 5, 2001, but had a long release delay before finally arriving in the continent in June 2002.

Extra applications: calculator, clock, games, recorder, and unit converter. In addition, Nokia 9210 Communicator was the first Nokia device where 3rd party software developers could freely implement new applications and offer them for download by the users.